Reber was exiting the Wal-Mart store on Walton Boulevard around 8 p.m. Sept. 3, carrying two bags of ice, when Sanchez came from behind and stole her wallet, which was tucked underneath one arm. Reber then chased Sanchez into the parking lot.

She yelled for helped and eventually caught Sanchez, striking him several times in the head. He turned over her wallet and tried to flee the scene twice before officers arrived at the store.

But on Thursday, those charges were dismissed by the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which determined that Sanchez had been improperly charged by LCPD detectives.

The district attorney’s spokesman said Thursday that prosecutors and the detective overseeing the case believed the facts of the case supported larceny, not robbery. Since larceny is a non-violent petty misdemeanor, the District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the case.

The New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled in 1967 that violence and force, or threatened violence or force to insight fear, are essential elements of robbery.

Police believe that there was apparently no fear from Reber, who chased down Sanchez and hit him several times before recovering her wallet.

The conspiracy charge against Sanchez’s girlfriend, Shana Kowaoke, 36, also was dismissed Friday, court records show. Surveillance video from the store shows that Kowaoke pointed out Reber to Sanchez moments before he snatched her wallet.

Although Sanchez was released from the Doña Ana County Detention Center on Thursday, a Magistrate Court judge issued a warrant for his arrest on Friday, according to LCPD. Once detained, Sanchez will be held on a $2,000 surety bond.

He had not been arrested as Friday afternoon.

LCPD will be responsible for prosecuting Sanchez on the larceny charge. If convicted, he is facing a maximum of six months in jail, plus court fees.

On Thursday, Reber told the Sun-News that she was unhappy about the decisions to drop the felony charges against Sanchez. “I feel like I’m not getting justice,” she said.